title: A Green Synthesis of Carbon Nanoparticle from Honey for Real-Time Photoacoustic Imaging.
abstract: Imaging sentinel lymph nodes (SLN) could provide us with critical information about the progression of a cancerous disease. Real-time high-resolution intraoperative photoacoustic imaging (PAI) in conjunction with a near infrared (NIR) probe may offer the opportunities for the immediate imaging for direct identification and resection of SLN or collecting tissue samples. In this work a commercially amenable synthetic methodology is revealed for developing luminescent carbon nanoparticles with rapid clearance properties. A one-pot "green" technique is pursued, which involved rapid surface passivation of carbon nanoparticles with organic macromolecules (e.g. polysorbate, polyethyleneglycol) in a solvent free condition. Interestingly, the naked carbon nanoparticles are derived for the first time, from commercial food grade honey. Surface coated particles are markedly smaller (~7 nm) than the previously explored particles (gold, SWNT, copper) for SLN imaging. Results indicate an exceptionally rapid signal enhancement (~2 min) of the SLN. Owing to their strong optical absorption in the near infrared region, tiny size and rapid lymphatic transport, this platform offers great potential for faster resection of SLN and may lower complications caused by axillary investigation for mismarking with dyes or low-resolution imaging techniques.
authors.affiliation: C-TRAIN and Division of Cardiology, Washington University School of Medicine, 4320 Forest Park Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108, USA ; Key Laboratory of Molecular Imaging in College of Heilongjiang Province, Department of Radiology, the 4th Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150001, China.
authors.forename: Lina
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.forename: Xin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Cai
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Nelson
authors.forename: Wenxin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Xing
authors.forename: Jun
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Ruiying
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Allen J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Stacy
authors.forename: Micah
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Luderer
authors.forename: Gregory M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: Lanza
authors.forename: Lihong V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Baozhong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Shen
authors.forename: Dipanjan
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Pan
keywords: Carbon nanoparticle; contrast agents; honey; photoacoustic tomography; real-time imaging